Philmont's Quinn wins Philadelphia Senior Professional Championship by a shot

   Dave Quinn of Philmont Country Club had the day’s best round, a 3-under-par 67 at Radnor Valley Country Club, to finish at 5-under 135 and capture the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship Tuesday.

   Quinn led a group of eight Philadelphia Section PGA senior pros who qualified for the Senior PGA Professional Championship, presented by Mercedes-Benz USA and supported by Golf Advisor and John Deere, which will tee off Sept. 28 at Desert Mountain’s Cochise and Geronimo courses in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   Defending Philadelphia Senior champion Stu Ingraham, the head of instruction at the M Golf Range, had grabbed a two-shot lead when he fired an opening round of 5-under 65 Monday. Quinn and Applebrook Golf Club head pro Dave McNabb were tied for fourth, three shots behind Ingraham at 2-under 68.

   After opening Tuesday’s second round with a bogey, Quinn got it going, making birdies at two, six, seven, 10 and 13 to reach 6-under for the tournament. Back-to-back bogeys at 15 and 16 dropped him back to 4-under, but a birdie at the 17^th got him to 5-under.

   McNabb, coming off his third trip to the PGA Championship in the last five years, closed with a second straight 68 to finish a shot behind Quinn at 4-under 136. McNabb had a pair of 78s in the PGA at The Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. and missed the cut, which fell at 5-over 147.

   George Forster, the head pro at Radnor Valley, opened with a 3-under 67 Monday and trailed Ingraham by two shots. He matched par Tuesday with a 70 to finish alone in third at 3-under 137.

   Forster earned his 12^th straight trip to the Senior PGA Professional Championship. The top 35 finishers in the Senior Club Pro earn a ticket to the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, the first PGA Tour Champions major of the season next May, which will be played at The Golf Club at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich. for the fourth time since 2012.

   Forster and McNabb represented the Philadelphia Section in this year’s Senior PGA at Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Va. after strong showings in last year’s Senior Club Pro at the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Neither Forster nor McNabb made the cut at Trump National.

   Ingraham struggled a little in Tuesday’s second round with a 73, but finished tied for fourth at 2-under 138 to easily earn a ticket to Desert Mountain. It will be, I believe, the 29^th national PGA of America event that Ingraham will tee it up in, including six PGA Championships, in his stellar career.

   John Pillar, the director of golf at The Country Club at Woodloch Springs, had a second straight 69 and was also in the group tied for fourth at 2-under 138. Pillar has had a solid 2017, making trips to both the PGA Professional Championship at the Sunriver Resort in Oregon and to the U.S. Senior Open at Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass.

   Ingraham played the weekend at the U.S. Senior Open, finishing tied for 49^th. McNabb, who also qualified for the U.S. Senior Open, lost in a playoff to Omar Uresti in the National Club Pro at Sunriver.  If you’re getting the idea that the senior pros in the Philadelphia Section can play a little, you’re right.

   Greg Farrow of Deerwood Country Club rounded out the group tied for fourth at 138 as he added a 71 to his opening-round 67.

   Grabbing the final two tickets to Desert Mountain were Wayne Phillips of Lehigh Country Club, who finished seventh at 1-over 141 after rounds of 71 and 70,  and John DiMarco of Laurel Creek Country Club, who had a pair 71s for a 2-over 142 total.

   Don Allan of Burlington Country Club carded a 2-under 68 Tuesday after opening with a 74 and shared eighth place with DiMarco at 142. Pretty sure there was a playoff for that final spot in the Senior Club Pro, but I’m not positive about that. Allan is the first alternate.

   The other four alternates are Rick Flesher (69-74) of Applebrook, John Allen (72-71), an assistant pro at Huntingdon Valley Country Club, Brian Kelly (71-72) of Bucknell Golf Club, all of whom finished tied for 10^th at 3-over 143, and John Appleget (71-73) of Wildwood Golf & Country Club, who finished 13^th at 4-over 144.

   Nice to see Ed Dougherty teeing it up at Radnor Valley and carding a 2-over 72 Tuesday after struggling to an opening-round 83. Eddie Doc, who turns 70 in November, won twice on the PGA Tour Champions and earned more than $6 million on the senior circuit.